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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Stop asking for a rainbow and teddy bear apocalypse.

I will preface this by saying that, no, this is not directed at people who review my work. I fully expect to have my share of people who do not like my work. That is part of the business. If you start engaging in a war of words with every person who does not think gold drips from your fingers and every word is to be cherished...you will NEVER get any writing done. Nope, this has to do with complaints I read, not just in my reviews, but the reviews of some of the writers I enjoy.

First off, I don't believe that I am alone here in thinking some rather undesirable types will come out of such an event and take advantage of the lawless chaos. I remember the first time I saw such a portrayal. It was the 70s disaster classic Earthquake. (Remember "Sensaround"?) That frizzy haired National Guardsman? The "reality" of an apocalypse scenario is that a lot of our first responders will be lost.

If you have watched or read anything in the zombie genre, chances are that you have come across a scene or two that made you uncomfortable. Terrible acts of violence. The funny thing is, people who read this can handle a person being ripped apart and eaten alive...but when it comes to the "person-to-person" attacks...some sort of line is drawn.

My DEAD series has a character named Garrett McCormick. When I set out to write the series, I wanted to create a villain that did not exist in a gray area. He needed to be evil. Plain and simple. Garrett fit that bill. The interesting thing is that, at no time, do I go into detail once he encounters Kirsten. Yet, some reviews blast the graphic nature of that part of my books. I actually take that sort of criticism as a compliment. That means that I painted a vivid enough picture that the reader's mind filled in the blanks.

The funny thing about that Garrett/Kirsten sequence is that what I really wanted to emphasize was the strength of Kirsten. Despite the horror, she remains strong-willed. Too often, I believe that female characters are shoved into a "damsel-in-distress" image that portrays women as weak. No, I am not here to debate gender issues...but I have encountered some women who have overcome great adversity and defied what "professionals" have deemed the outcome should be.

I believe that the "Steves" and "Kevins" of the apocalypse will be few and far between. That has brought a lot of criticism. Many say that I have a bleak view of humanity. No, I just have the "benefit" of being exposed to a part of society that many have not. And what's funny is that, even the mainstream entertainment business treads in that water. The show Revolutionhas its share of seedy types. The difference is that people who watch it do not tend to fill in the blanks as much as somebody reading. A reader is far more invested in a story than a watcher. They paint the picture in their minds and are not constrained by what they see.

The Zomblog series gets its share of fire from people who are bothered by the degree of violence, in particular, the experiences endured by Meredith before she meets up with Sam's group. Once again, my objective with her was to portray a woman who did not need to be saved. Not only that, but there is also the implication that she might be overcompensating from her experiences with denial and acting in such a way to prove to herself that she was not beaten by her captors. But that may be digging too deep. The reality is that I just wanted a female that was stronger than her environment.

Is it brutal? Sure, but so is the zombie apocalypse. In the absence of order, chaos is king. Don't believe me? Watch Schindler's List. History is very full of instances of man's ability to commit atrocities against man. Just watch the nightly news. Look what we do to each other when order is in place and law exists! Remove consequence and see what happens. Crusades...Inquisitions...Genocide.

I am in total agreement about the type of people left after such an event. The reason for this is obvious! The "good" people will rush out to help....& get bit. You just can't expect the evil people to rush in to give aid & comfort in a disaster. They are the ones walking over the injured to get their own needs met. The world is full of those type of survivors already, why would anyone expect an apocalyptic event to change that balance?

OMG! To Vix K, you are so right! Anyone that questions the truth in that should learn what an inbedded collar is. Watch Animal planet & then try to tell me about all the good people in our world! Then when these animal abusing scumbags get caught all that happens to them is the poor little animal(s) is taken away. Those people should be placed in a controlled environment, then given "an eye for an eye" treatment! I mean how do you miss that your dog has grown to three times its puppy size & you haven't even loosened the freaking collar? let alone the smell of infection rolling off the poor thing til the collar needs surgical removal at times to the BONE. A tight belt, a ton of cheap food, you get the picture. I would even offer to do the surgical removal for free, I could probably watch a couple of you tube videos to learn how, or maybe some of those upstanding citizens that crop their dogs ears with sewing scissors could assist & bring the scissors!In tough times I would trust animals over people anyday!

About Me

TW Brown is the author of the Zomblog series, DEAD series, and That Ghoul Ava series. He is deeply immersed in
pursuing his dream of being a “full-time” writer while trying to balance the
duties of husband, father, friend, and Border Collie owner. He keeps busy
reading and editing the numerous submissions for a variety of upcoming
anthologies and full-length titles for May December Publications. He has had short stories published by Pill
Hill Press, Living Dead Press, and others.